Star Wars Clone Trooper and Battle Droid SH Figuarts Announced

Tamashii Nations has announced the next two Star Wars characters coming to the S.H. Figuarts line up. In a banner on their Star Wars page, they revealed that they will be releasing a Clone Trooper and a Battle Droid. There’s only the single preview image available. We’ll update when more information becomes available.

I'm glad I missed the boat. Both figures seem 'off.' Vader seems too bulky, and the Stormtrooper helmet is modified around the mouthpiece, resembling the simplified version in 'Rebels' more than the old version from the movies. The movie version is more 'authentic' for me, coming from that generation. Going forward, I'm going to focus on the upcoming versions from Medicom, as they seem more screen accurate by comparison.

I understand that this critique may be highly subjective, like shopping for anything else. Like you, I'm leery of fabric, because it looks so crummy generally on small figures. I was 'gung ho' for Black Series Vader until I saw the cheap fabric, but we expect better when we pay more, so here's hoping that Figuarts Vader looks at least a little better.

All the designers seem to have trouble with Vader's arms. Hasbro chose appearance over function, with very limited articulation. Medicom seems to have kept the limbs narrow in order to maximise movement around a simple joint, whereas Figuarts seems to have given Vader extra elbows, maybe to make it easier for both hands to grip the lightsaber (or something).

I stand by my observation re: the Stormtrooper mouthpiece. Black Series got it right, and Medicom may possibly have gotten it right, but it looks like Figuarts went with the simpler frowny-face instead. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll know better soon!

I see nothing different with the ST mouthpiece from the movies to the Figuarts. As for capes, I disagree on that. Capes on 4 inch figures that are cloth are okay, but 6inch and higher should only have rubber or plastic capes. Cloth capes not only get disrty and shred over time, but they also make it impossible for the figure to be given a nice badass dynamic pose. Rubber/plastic capes that are molded to look dynamic make it much better.